HI 6580 - Topics in Latin American History: Women in Latin America

Credits: 3

Description For centuries, most history of Latin America (and the Caribbean) was preserved by and written from the vantage point of European conquerors who saw the “new world” only as a part of their own colonizing states - primarily Portugal, Spain, France and England. A more inclusive history is more accurate and is necessary in today’s world. This course has three primary goals: 1) to introduce students to the Western Hemisphere as it was before Columbus with cities that were many times larger than the largest of 15th century Europe, and more advanced in terms of cleanliness and urban planning with sewage systems that Europe had not yet imagined in the 1400s; 2) to present an overview of “Latin” America as it has developed economically and politically since the 15th century; and 3) to present that history to the present through the lives and viewpoints of women the occupied, the enslaved, and the domestically unequal.